The Art Of Deceit
by iTarundoru
Summary: AU. It was all based on deception and lies, with someone else pulling the strings, and soon Atobe and Echizen found themselves involved with something far more complicated than they could ever imagine.
1. Chapter 1

So I'm back with what is going to be my first multichaptered story. Well, depending on the response I get that is.  
Would you believe that this was originally planned out as a story set in olden times with Kings and whatnot?

**Disclaimer**- PoT is, sadly, not mine.

* * *

"I'm home."

Even though the hall was empty there came the tantalising smell of cooking wafting from the kitchen and so Echizen Ryoma knew that his mother, at least, was home. There was no telling where his father was, probably still caught up in a business meeting or locked in his study upstairs completing paperwork.

Despite the fact that Ryoma had technically moved out a couple of years ago and now had his own apartment he could not stop himself from referring to this place as his home. In his family it was a tradition that the family would meet up every Sunday and have dinner together, since that was the only time his cousin Nanako was able to get away from her family, which now consisted of a husband and two adorable young children, and make the trip down to see them.

"Oh, Ryoma. Welcome back." His mother appeared at the kitchen door, wiping her hands on a dish cloth. "Nanako couldn't make it so it's just us for dinner."

Ryoma nodded as he pulled off his shoes and reached for the house slippers, even if Nanako was not around that was no reason for them to let good food go to waste.

It was not long before they were all sitting around the low table, plates of steaming food in front of them and conversation flowing easily between them. It was mostly about business, Ryoma's parents were workers at a slowly expanding corporation that dealt with fraud and Ryoma was a tennis coach at a nearby elite academy where his name was slowly starting to move up in the world.

They had just finished their meal when the sound of the doorbell disturbed them from their conversation, a rather strange occurrence since they were not expecting anyone.

"I wonder who that could be," His mother got to her feet and left the room where they could hear her opening the door. Not a moment later there came a high pitched scream followed by several large bangs and heavy footsteps that had Ryoma and his father leaping to their feet and racing out into the hall.

It all happened so fast that Ryoma was barely able to take in the mess in the hall, broken glass from picture frames littering the ground, before he was tackled hard and landed with a heavy thump onto the ground. Winded, he twisted his head around desperately, trying to at least get a look at his attackers, but before he was able to there was a sickening crack as something collided with the side of his head.

Everything went black.

--

"Keigo, be reasonable."

"Reasonable?! You come waltzing in here and drop this bombshell and you're telling _me_ to be reasonable?"

The young man who, up until that very moment, had been pacing up and down the room suddenly stopped to whirl around and face the two people sitting on the plush white sofa, waving his arms dramatically. The sun was just starting to set outside of the large glass window which took up one whole side of the room, causing a warm orange glow to spread over the tops of the buildings which paled in significance to the height of the building they were currently in, but even this magnificent sight did nothing to placate the obviously irate young man.

"We're your parents, Keigo, we want what is best for you." The two were obviously not ones to be intimidated easily, else they were simply just too used to this behaviour to let it affect them anymore, for their tones were perfectly controlled and smooth.

"But a fiancé?" Obviously the one they were talking to did not have this kind of control, the sneering tone of disgust was evident in every fibre of his being, from his voice to his very body language.

"When we gave you this company we were quite content to sit back and allow you to run things as you saw fit but we realise now that may have been a mistake, you need someone to help with the running of things and a fiancé would be perfect for the job," It was become harder for them to keep calm, the strain in their voice was starting to show through, "After the suicide of that lovely young lady a month ago..."

"She was weak. If she could not handle the pressures of being involved with a large company then she should not-"

"Atobe!" At this a fourth member in the room stood up, who had previously been silent, hands clenched tightly into fists at his sides, "I don't think-"

"Silence!" The man whipped around to face the new speaker, "I do not pay you to voice your opinions."

An uncomfortable quiet fell over the room, punctuated only by the soft ticking of the clock situated on the wall and heavy breathing as they all fought to calm themselves down. When the next words came it was from the sofa, the tone soft but with an air of complete authority.

"If you do not comply with this then we will be forced to give ownership to someone more worthy, we shall be in touch again soon."

--

When Ryoma woke it was to the harsh chill of water droplets splashing methodically on his skin. Golden eyes opened slowly, expecting to the see the sky and thus where the water was coming from, but instead he came face to face with a dull grey ceiling. His hands were tied behind his back and already Ryoma could feel that the skin of his wrists was rubbed raw.

Although his head throbbed painfully and his vision blurred a little with the movement he was able to push himself into a sitting position in order to look around. The room he was in was only dimly lit but enough so to be able to make out that the furniture consisted solely of a small, lumpy looking bed in the corner and a toilet with a cracked sink. The room smelt of damp and water dripped from several holes in the ceiling, much like the one which had awoken Ryoma.

A small groan from his left had Ryoma looking around in panic but this feeling quickly made way for relief when he recognized the outlines of his parents laying on their sides a short distance away from him, gagged and bound but still very much alive. Struggling to his knees Ryoma had managed to shuffle a few inches towards them when he was suddenly stopped by a hand on the collar of his shirt.

"So you're finally awake. The boss wants to see you."

Ryoma was just able to make out a broad figure with dark hair before he was blindfolded and pulled upright so roughly his feet actually left the ground for a few seconds and his air supply was cut off by the fabric of his shirt digging in his neck.

Coughing, Ryoma was too weak to fight back as he was dragged down countless halls, nearly stumbling over his own feet as he battled to keep up and not just be towed along like an animal. He was almost grateful when they came to a stop and his captor knocked three times on a door before being beckoned inside.

There came the sound of a bolt being slid into place as Ryoma was pushed further into the room and then forced to his knees as his captor did the same, the stone floor cold through the fabric of his clothes but at least not damp like the room he had been in earlier.

"Ah, welcome. I've been waiting for you." Ryoma glared in the direction of the voice, which was coming from somewhere in front of him, but since he was blindfolded the effect was practically zero. When Ryoma did not reply the voice spoke again.

"Now, I won't keep you long. I'm sure you're a very busy man and don't like being tied up with things," There was a pause as several different voices sniggered at the double meaning of the words, "so I will try to be brief. I want you to help me."

"I refuse."

"Oh?" The voice sounded genuinely curious, "Even while you're in such a compromising position you still sound so sure of yourself."

Ryoma flinched a little when the cool metal of a pistol was pressed against his temple but otherwise made no move. This lack of reaction seemed to disappoint them, for they sighed loudly before continuing."And it would be perfectly up your street, your parents are in business right?"

At the mention of his parents Ryoma bristled, gritting his teeth.

"Release my parents," He ground out.

"Excuse me?"

"Release my parents and I will help you."

The voice laughed. "Oh don't worry, they will not be harmed as long as you cooperate. As soon as I'm certain everything has been confirmed they will be allowed to go home. Now," There was the rustle of fabric as the speaker leant forwards, "Listen carefully to what I have to say."

* * *

So there we go, chapter one. I actually have most of this story planned out (that's what happens when you're on holiday and the only entertainment for miles around is a golf course) and so it's merely a matter of typing it up.

Tell me what you think or what I could improve on.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to all of my readers and especially to my reviewers - According to the new Reader Traffic thing I have had readers from 23 different countries. Wow.

Anywho... This is the second chapter.

* * *

Ryoma really didn't want to be here.

Here with all these garish decorations glinting blindingly in the light of a chandelier, with the kind of schmaltzy music which was far more suited to a Victorian ball than a gathering for all the top business leaders and their snooty offspring (all of who were studiously ignoring the black haired youth skulking by the stairs).

The only good side to a gathering like this was that there were plenty of servants on hand and so the glass of wine that Ryoma clutched in his hand was refilled almost as soon as it had been drained in the attempt to try and forget about the reason why he was here in the first place.

--

_"..so basically you want me to seduce some rich guy?"_

_Even with the blindfold still securely in place Ryoma could sense the amusement coming from his captors at his blunt attitude._

_"Well if you're going to take it that way. Just get close to him, find out about him and then report your findings to us."_

_Ryoma didn't bother to ask why they wanted to know these things, heck, he didn't even __**want**__ to know. All he knew was that he should just listen to them and get all this over as soon as possible so that he could get on with his life and write this all off as some kind of bad dream._

_"Alright so say I go along with this, how am I meant to even get near him in the first place?" As far as he knew normal people like him could not just waltz into the life of a top business man, he'd get stopped before he even managed to catch a glimpse of this person._

_"There's is no need to worry about that. His family have arranged a party in a couple of days time and we shall make sure that you are on the guest list."_

_"And you'll keep your side of the bargain?" Ryoma asked suspiciously._

_"Yes, if things go well your parents will be released. Let it be known though that if you attempt to defy us we will not hesitate in becoming even more.. acquainted with them and this time we may not be so humane."_

_With his eyes covered Ryoma was unable to see their expressions to judge whether they were being truthful, though the threat certainly sounded real, and in the end he was forced to admit that this was probably the best he was going to get._

_"Fine.."_

_--_

Even though the room he was currently in was reasonably far away from the ball room where all the guests were Atobe could still hear the faint buzz of music and drone of conversation. It seemed most of the guests had arrived by now and he would be expected to be there soon.

It wasn't that he disliked parties, in fact it was rather the opposite, but it was the fact that the only reason his parents had arranged this was so that all of their friends could parade their daughters in front of him in the hope that he would choose them as his fiancée.

It made him mad that they were treating him like a child.

After combing his fingers through his hair a couple of times Atobe decided that he had better head down before they sent someone looking for him. Still, late entrances were usually the most dramatic right? It was almost his duty as an Atobe to do so.

Unfortunately his entrance did not go quite as planned. Certainly it was dramatic in a way but only because, after sweeping grandly down the stairs with his head held high, he had promptly crashed into a black haired youth lingering around the bottom of the stairs.

--

Ryoma had been so busy trying to tune out his surroundings and the annoying, posh voices laughing at some kind of joke which only those in the upper class would understand (and thus one he would have no chance of comprehending) that it was only his good reflexes that prevented him from spilling his wine all over his fancy suit.

"Hey, watch where you're going, is the room not big enough for you or something?"

He turned to glare at the person who had walked in to him, a taller man dressed in an immaculate suit and wearing a superior expression, as though he thought he was better than everyone else in the room. The kind of person which Ryoma disliked almost instantly.

"Excuse me? What did you say, brat?"

Ryoma scowled at the name and had just opened his mouth to retort when they were interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps and fell silent, though not before the other man had given an irritable huff and turned his head away. No more than a few seconds later did a second man catch up to them, green eyes glaring at the person with Ryoma.

"There you are! I was looking-" The man paused, as though only just noticing that Ryoma was there and bowed hurriedly, "I'm sorry for interrupting. You're Echizen Ryoma, correct?"

Ryoma only managed to nod, there was no point in asking how he knew his name since this party was only for a select group on a guest list. Even though he had never seen this curly haired man before there was something about him, his voice perhaps, that had Ryoma feeling like he had met him before.

"My name's Kirihara, I've visited your academy a couple of times." Ah, so that must be where. Ryoma had so many people passing through, some permanent and some spending only a few days, that it was hard to keep track of them all. "This is Atobe, the host of this party."

Ryoma's gaze immediately snapped back to the man he had been arguing with before and who was now standing with his arms folded, still glaring at Ryoma. Atobe. Atobe as in _the_ Atobe? The Atobe he was supposed to be gathering information on? Oh great.

As though sensing the tension between them, the air was almost tangible with the bitterness, Kirihara quickly intervened.

"So how are you finding the party, Echizen-san?"

"The decorations are blinding and the music hurts my ears," The words escaped before he had even thought about it. Not really the best choice of words when he was supposed to be buttering up the host.

"What?!" Atobe, at least, was outraged, hands on his hips as his glare intensified, "I'll have you know that those decorations were hand picked by me and it just goes to show you are not cultured enough to enjoy the wonders of Mozart."

"Just because I don't have my head so far up my-"

Unfortunately, or fortunately really since they had started to draw rather a lot of attention, Ryoma was interrupted once again but this time by an elegant looking older woman coming sweeping towards them.

--

What an ignorant brat. Who did he think he was? Didn't he know that he should be throwing himself at Atobe's feet since he was allowing him within even a meter of his own magnificent presence?

"Keigo, darling."

Atobe had to drag his eyes away from the arrogant boy when his mother came striding towards him, heels clacking on the floor and the strong floral scent of perfume wafting in her wake as she leaned down to kiss him quickly on both cheeks.

"So this is where you were," Her eyes flickered obviously over to Ryoma, blatantly eyeing him up and down with distaste. "Come along now, I have plenty of people I want to introduce you to."

Maybe it was just an act of childish rebellion or maybe it was the fact that he could not resist a challenge, and this was certainly going to be his biggest one yet, but Atobe shook his head slowly.

"There is no need for that."

"Oh?" His mother quirked one, perfectly shaped eyebrow in questioning.

Atobe reached out, slinging an arm around Ryoma's shoulders (although his grip was a little tighter than it should have been if he had just been being friendly) and dragged the shorter man closer to him, totally ignoring the look of shock on Kirihara's face.

"Yes, I have already found the fiancé I want."

--

Oh this was perfect.

It had been a good idea to choose the kid. There was no way Atobe would have been able to walk away after meeting him and, naturally, the assumptions had been correct.

Yes, everything was going exactly to plan.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Unless of course you simply scrolled down to this point for no particular reason in which case thank you for wasting your time doing that.

Once again let me know what you think and what I can improve on.


	3. Chapter 3

The third chapter!

I wasn't actually planning on typing this up so quickly but since it's done nothing but rain every day for the past week (what happened to summer? -.-) I figured I had nothing else to do.

This chapter is indeed longer than my others, since someone asked and I'm a complete push over, but is still reasonably short since I needed to find a suitable place to cut off. The other chapters will probably be longer. Regardless, enjoy!

* * *

"You've what?"

To say Atobe's mother was surprised was probably an understatement. Her eyebrows were raised, disappearing into the wisps of hair that fell across her forehead, and her lips were pursed.

"I said, I've already found the one I want," Atobe repeated, a little louder than before so that several people nearby stopped talking and turned to face the small group, his tone holding a challenging edge that Ryoma did not quite understand.

For someone Ryoma assumed to spend most of his time holed up in board meetings with all the nations big shots Atobe was surprisingly stronger than he looked and his grip around Ryoma was tighter than he expected and so, after a breathy 'go with it or you'll regret it' being hissed into his ear courtesy of Atobe, Ryoma found himself rooted to the spot beneath the harsh glare of the older woman.

"Come along now, don't be silly Keigo," Her tone was light but with an undercurrent of forced control, as though she were speaking to a child in a temper rather than to a full grown man. It was obviously an attempt to not draw any more attention to themselves, though it made no real difference since already the whispers had started up and were now sweeping across the room like wildfire. In all directions conversations were ceasing and heads were turning their way, eager to latch onto this new piece of gossip. Even Kirihara had stopped trying to divert people's attention away since he had now probably realised how futile it was.

"No," Whatever attempts his mother made at trying to stay unnoticed were promptly nullified since, if anything, Atobe's voice was rising each time he spoke. Obviously he was a person who enjoyed attention and having everyone's eyes on him. Another thing which had him on Ryoma's dislike list. "You said yourself that you were happy to sit back and let _me_ run the company how _I_ wanted. Surely this extends to who I choose to run it with me?"

Considering his options were rather limited at the moment Ryoma had to settle for keeping his gaze on Atobe's mother for he was most certainly not going to give the small crowd of people the satisfaction of looking at them.

While he did not smile he did, however, manage to fix her with a blank stare that was most unsuited for a person who was supposedly the interest of the only son of a wealthy businessman. Naturally this only outraged her even more and so his look was returned with a glare that, if it were not for the fact he dished out those kinds of glares on a daily basis, would have left him cowering.

"But look at him, he is nothing but a bad tempered young boy."

Ryoma knew that he should probably be offended by this and the fact that they were all talking about him as though he was not, in fact, standing right in the middle of them in what was essentially a stranglehold, but the warmth of Atobe's body against his own as well as the fact his breath stirred the hairs on the top of his head with each breath he took was vaguely distracting.

Shifting his weight ever so subtly Ryoma tried to test the grip that Atobe had on him and whether he could manage to untangle himself without it being too blindingly obvious. As it were, nothing seemed to escape Atobe's notice and the hold on him merely tightened, quickly accompanied by a sharp jab to the ribs from Atobe's free hand.

"Boy or not it makes no difference," Ryoma scowled slightly at the fact that Atobe hadn't actually denied that he was bad tempered, "As long as he meets your standards and does not tarnish the family name then it's perfectly fine, _right?_"

The last word was spoken with a hint of triumph. In this day and age same gender relationships were fully accepted and so Atobe knew that his mother could not deny them on those grounds lest she want to suffer a backlash from the general public and risk disgracing the Atobe name.

Breathing heavily though her nose in what was obviously an attempt to keep herself calm she let out a small huff of mixed anger and embarrassment.

"Fine. But I shall be talking to your father about this." One hand settled on her hip as she drew herself up to her full height, obviously trying to maintain her dignity by attempting to appear indifferent, before turning on her heel and stalking off.

--

As soon as she was out of sight, weaving through the crowd of people with ease, Atobe's grip around Ryoma was released and the latter stumbled forwards a couple of steps before righting himself, straightening his clothes with a scowl.

Naturally Atobe paid no attention to this and instead turned to Kirihara, ignoring the furtive whispers of those around him with ease that only came with practise rather than the natural obliviousness Ryoma seemed to have to what was going on around him.

"Well? What are you standing around for? This is a party, why aren't people enjoying themselves?"

With a sigh and a nod Kirihara turned around to face the curious crowd of people, encouraging them to disperse and slowly drawing their attention away from the two males. It was only when the last person had turned away did Atobe finally face Ryoma, an emotion as close to guilt as he was probably able to feel etched on his features.

"It would have led to a whole lot of trouble if I had refused," Ryoma commented, still a little annoyed at the fact that Atobe had actually acted as though he was doing Ryoma a favour (even though technically he was, it made Ryoma's job far easier this way), as he adjusted the cuffs on his sleeves.

Atobe snorted, elegantly of course, as though the idea of anyone refusing him was a particularly amusing joke. When he caught the utter seriousness of Ryoma's expression the amusement on his own face faded and was replaced with a frown.

"I'll pay you."

Ryoma was a little put out by this, expecting some kind of sarcastic or superior reply. Indeed he even had his own retort on the tip of his tongue and had to quickly bite it back when he realised just how desperate Atobe seemed. Feeling a little guilty because of his reasons for doing this Ryoma averted his gaze, opting to stare at the floor.

"I don't need your money," He muttered.

"What then?" Atobe sounded a little annoyed, no doubt thinking that Ryoma was being deliberately awkward. "Name your price."

"I don't need anything," Ryoma glanced up, just in time to catch a small smirk making it's way onto Atobe's features, and quickly corrected himself before Atobe decided to get the whole wrong idea. "I mean, if I'm seen with you then my popularity within the academy is going to increase and I'll get more work, right?"

"I see," Atobe's tone was far more amused than it should have been but for once Ryoma decided to let it slide.

"In any case you have no idea what you've just let yourself into." Ryoma commented loftily.

"Oh? Is that a challenge?" Atobe's tone held the same arrogant edge.

"Only if you take it that way."

With that Ryoma turned away and started to make his way back through the crowd of people towards the doors. Unbeknownst to him the same arrogant smirk he wore was reflected on Atobe's features. This kid was going to be interesting.

--

Atobe's garden, much like the rest of the house, was all done to a grand scale and Ryoma felt even more out of place as he made his way down the path that wound through the middle of the garden.

On each side flowers had been planted methodically, their fragrances strong but not enough to be overbearing, and the grass had been recently cut. Dotted along the lawn were small lights, like the ones inside the house but on a smaller scale, and were no doubt there to accentuate (or show off rather) the features to anyone who happened to wander out here from the party.

It was far cooler outside than inside, where the heat of a large number of bodies added to the warmth from the lights, and Ryoma found his hands shaking slightly (which was obviously to do with the chill and nothing to do with nerves) as he pulled out his phone.

They had provided him with a number to call when he had done what he had been sent to do, no doubt scrambled so that it could not be traced, and so it was merely a matter of dialling the number and waiting.

The person who picked up was not the so called 'boss' he had spoken to before, the voice was far too deep, but whoever they were they had obviously been waiting for his call for they seemed to know who it was straight away.

"Echizen Ryoma?"

"Yes," Ryoma glanced over his shoulder every so often but there was no one else around, they were all still inside enjoying the music or else dissecting the latest piece of scandal that was going on with the Atobes.

"You've done what you said you would?"

"Yes," Ryoma highly doubted he would be able to get any closer than his position now was. It was now merely a matter of _using_ that position.

There was a pause on the other end of the line, in which there was the muffled sound of footsteps and hushed voices, before the other person spoke again.

"We have just received the signal that what you say is indeed true, thank you for your cooperation in this matter."

"And...?" Ryoma prompted.

"And your parents are being released as we speak."

Ryoma let out a sigh of relief, which probably went unheard on the other side of the line for they had promptly hung up as soon as they had finished speaking.

Tilting his head back slightly, Ryoma closed his eyes, letting the cool night air stir the strands of his dark hair, and let the tension that had left him as coiled as a spring all night slowly drain away.

He wasn't sure how long he stayed outside, it was already dark so it was hard to judge using the amount of light, but eventually he was dragged from his thoughts by a voice calling him.

"Echizen?"

Ryoma glanced to the side just in time to see Kirihara hurrying up the path towards him.

"Atobe is asking for you."

Ryoma rolled his eyes at the fact that Atobe felt the need to send someone out to fetch him instead of coming to look for him himself but nodded and followed Kirihara as he made his way back down the path towards the house. There was silence for a moment until Ryoma decided to break it, simply so he didn't have to think about what Atobe may want.

"So how long have you been working for Atobe?"

"About a month I guess," Kirihara replied.

"You don't seem like the type to let someone else boss you around," Ryoma observed. To him Kirihara seemed more like the one who would be wearing the boots rather than the one licking them.

"You don't seem like the type to let someone else use you to get back at his family," Kirihara countered, a smirk on his face.

Naturally Ryoma had no reply to this and they lapsed back into silence.

--

To Ryoma's surprise when they got back inside people seemed to be ready to leave, he must have been outside longer than he thought, but Kirihara ignored all of the people and instead headed for the stairs where Ryoma had been hanging around and where all this mess started.

He was led down a hall, which was as fancily decorated as the rest of the house seemed to be, before they came to a stop outside one of the doors and Kirihara knocked briefly on the dark wood.

"Come in."

The room seemed to be a study of sorts, with the walls lined with bookshelves stacked with thick, drably coloured volumes and a large desk sitting in the middle of the room nearest to the window. Behind this desk, in a large leather chair, was Atobe looking every inch the aristocrat as he motioned for Ryoma to be seated in a chair in front of the desk. Kirihara remained in the room but standing near the door, probably to prevent anyone else from coming in.

"Now," Atobe leaned forwards once Ryoma was seated and Ryoma was briefly reminded that this was indeed the person who commandeered a large company and had what was probably hundreds under his control. "As you may have noticed my mother is rather... difficult."

That was a understatement. If Ryoma's parents were like that he would have probably gone crazy with frustration long ago. Probably guessing what Ryoma was thinking Atobe continued, in a brisk no nonsense tone, before he was able to say anything.

"She, and my father to an extent, is obsessed with keeping up the family name and as a result there are certain standards that people must meet before even being acknowledged."

"So?" Ryoma wasn't exactly sure where this conversation was leading.

"So, starting tomorrow you will be reporting to me to change your unsightly ways and turn you into someone my parents will approve of."

* * *

So there we go. Thank you for reading and please review. I promise I'll get around to replying to them this time xD


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4!

To be honest this was.. hard to write to say the least. I have all the ideas but I just can't seem to be able to put them down in a logical fashion. In the end I stuck all of my Tenimyu songs on repeat and forced myself to type it all out. I gave myself a couple of days to edit but I cannot seem to make it any less terrible than it is now and for that I apologise.

It may seem like I'm throwing in characters randomly (which I sort of am, in a way) but they are actually important to the overall story line.

Also, this is a fairly boring chapter. I promise that things will start to pick up soon, this is a drama story after all, so I hope you don't all lose faith in me.

* * *

The first thing that Ryoma did as soon as he managed to leave Atobe's, ignoring the offer of a lift, was flag down a taxi (he had been drinking after all) and empty all the money he was carrying with him into the bemused driver's hand.

If his parents were surprised at seeing their son on the doorstep out of breath, the money he had was fine for getting him to his apartment but was not quite enough to get him all the way to his parents', in the middle of the night they certainly did not show it.

Rather his mother almost at once dragged him into a hug, in which Ryoma was secretly relieved but put up a struggle simply because that was what he was expected to do, and pulled him inside the house.

"Oh Ryoma, you'll never guess what happened."

No, probably not, but he was pretty sure he would be able to make a good guess. Even after what had happened to them Ryoma couldn't help but notice that they were indeed uninjured, not even a bruise or a scratch (which really didn't seem fair considering the crack to the head Ryoma had taken), just like the captors had said.

"Apparently we were being targeted and that whole fiasco the other night was a means of protection," His mother was looking far too relaxed than would be considered normal after what Ryoma had imagined had happened to them, "They said they needed to make things dramatic so that it would seem like someone else got to us first and get them off our trail."

"...what?" It occurred to him that his parents hadn't actually known he was there with them. They had been unconscious and so hadn't seen the rough treatment of him being taken away for the meeting.

"I know, shocking isn't it?" His father nodded gravely, "But I suppose that's to be expected with our line of work. Not to worry, they've promised to keep an eye on us so that nothing happens."

It was just then that Ryoma realised just how clever those captors had been, far smarter than he had given them credit for. This was a warning, his parents were not quite off the hook yet and there was no way he could go to the police when his parents believed that it had been for their protection.

It was a way of making sure Ryoma had no choice but to go along with things. If he did anything suspicious then they would be all over them before he even realised it.

"You must have been worried!" His mother ran her hands through Ryoma's hair a couple of times in what was supposed to be a soothing manner, "Don't worry, you can sleep here tonight, you have work in the morning don't you?"

Ryoma nodded, deciding it was futile to try and explain anything, and allowed himself to be fussed over as he was led to his old room for the night.

As he lay in bed, hands tucked behind his head as he stared at the ceiling, he could only curse the fact that he was playing directly into their hands and there was nothing he could do about it.

--

"Your returns are slower than usual, giving up?"

Almost as soon as these words had escaped his mouth Ryoma had to pivot quickly to the side, trainers squeaking on the floor, as he lunged after the small yellow tennis ball which was suddenly moving so much faster than before.

Managing to get his racquet under the ball he smirked as he sent it soaring back over the net, only to scowl when his saw that his opponent was in position for a smash. Even as he threw himself back towards the centre of the court he was not fast enough to catch up to the ball as it whizzed past him.

"You set that up," Ryoma adjusted the brim of his cap, glaring across the court to the brunette on the other side of the net who, except for a faint twitch which might have constituted a smile, remained expressionless.

"You let your guard down," Was the reply as his opponent started to walk towards the side of the court, tennis racquet held loosely in his left hand, "Two games to one, I believe."

Ryoma sighed and nodded, heading for the side as well where his water bottle was. While he was used to all sorts of skill levels coming to this academy, from those who barely knew which end of the racquet to hold to those who could hold their own against Ryoma reasonably well, but this particular person was in a league of their own.

Tezuka was well known for his skills and nine times out ten was able to wipe the floor with Ryoma, he suspected that other one time was out of pity, but he still came like clockwork once a week to have their usual clash, and had been doing so for as long as Ryoma could remember. Ever since recently though Tezuka had been coming more and more often and so it was no surprise to have matches with him several times a week.

He was dragged out of his thoughts by his water bottle being waved in front of his face, nodding his thanks to Tezuka as he took hold of it. Their fingers brushed during the exchange but Ryoma barely paid any attention to it, even when the older man kept his fingers there a little longer than would be necessary.

They kept silent during the short break, talking was not really a huge part of their personality for either male, before returning to the court where Tezuka served and another rally started up.

They had changed court during the break and Ryoma now had a view of the door leading out of the indoor court where they were playing. It was normal, and expected, for people to be crowding around the door to get a look at the matches going on inside and so it was no real surprise for someone to be there but rather it was_ who_ was standing there with their arms crossed that had Ryoma swinging too early and missing a relatively easy ball.

Even Tezuka seemed surprised by this and sent a questioning look over in Ryoma's direction but which was unseen since the younger boy was still looking over to the person by the door.

"What are you doing here?" He finally managed to bluntly ask.

"Nice to see you as well, brat," Came Atobe's surly reply, "Did you forget you were supposed to be with me today?"

While Ryoma made a habit of tuning out things he didn't want to listen to he highly doubted he would be able to forget about the imminent torture he was going to have to endure that day.

"How did you know how to find me?" Ryoma was fairly sure he hadn't mentioned to Atobe what he did, let alone given him full details about where to find him.

"Kirihara told me, it seems he is useful for one thing at least."

A polite cough brought them back into awareness of their surroundings and had both turning to face Tezuka who, seemingly guessing that the match was adjourned for the moment, had left his racquet and was now coming up to the two.

"Oh, Tezuka," Atobe greeted civilly, though his stance suggested it was a little forced.

"Atobe." Tezuka nodded his head by way of greeting, leaving Ryoma looking between the two completely bewildered as to how they seemed to know each other.

"How are things?" Atobe asked pleasantly, even though he was edging closer and closer to the door.

"They could be better," Tezuka replied in the same tone of forced joviality, "Ever since that suicide people have been rather wary of signing me up for competitions, you can almost see them mentally wondering how long it will take me to go the same way."

"Pity.." Atobe trailed off, not looking at all sympathetic, and then turned to face Ryoma, "Come on, I'm not waiting all day."

"I have work," Ryoma told him bluntly, hence his racquet and sports clothes, a little annoyed about his match being interrupted for such a, in his opinion, stupid reason.

"I spoke to the owner," There was a tone of finality in Atobe's voice that told Ryoma he was not going to be taking no for an answer. He had no doubt that it had been money doing the talking, rather than Atobe himself.

Ryoma looked over to Tezuka, as though hoping that maybe he would say something that would mean he didn't have to go but the other man stayed silent, leaving Ryoma with no choice in the matter.

--

After showering and changing into a different set of clothes, Atobe had wrinkled his nose and told him he wasn't allowing a sweaty waif anywhere near his house, Ryoma found himself trailing after Atobe as they made their way out to a car which had been no doubt waiting for them.

They were met by the driver who bowed and opened the door for the both of them. Ryoma, not used to such treatment, had to be given a shove courtesy of Atobe before he stopped staring and actually got inside.

Once they were seated and the car was pulling away Ryoma leaned back, head tilted to the side as he decided to ask the question that had been bothering him for a while now.

"You know Tezuka?"

"A little," Atobe's attempt at keeping coy about answering was unsuccessful for Ryoma, who found the answer most unsatisfactory, scowled until finally Atobe relented and added, "My company sponsors him in his tennis."

"And you don't like him," It wasn't a question, more of a flat statement.

"I... tolerate him," Atobe reiterated. With this said he shifted around so that he was no longer facing Ryoma, making it clear that he wasn't going to be answering any other questions.

With a huff Ryoma turned to face the window, arms crossed. Atobe was just getting more and more confusing the more he learnt about him.

--

With the rest of the journey passing in silence they eventually pulled up in front of the same house that Ryoma had been at for the party, though this time all of the garden lights had been taken away so even though it was still ridiculously large at least it no longer brought too much attention.

They were greeted at the door by a servant, who bowed and offered to take their coats. Atobe handed his over straight away but Ryoma clung stubbornly to his, not liking people fussing over him, until Atobe told him to stop being such a child.

"And your hat?" The servant held his hand out pointedly for the white cap still on Ryoma's head. Scowling Ryoma pulled on the brim, refusing to hand it over.

"Brat, you're not wearing that common piece of junk in my house, hand it over," Atobe informed him.

"No."

The servant sighed, obviously not used to this kind of behaviour. Eventually Atobe managed to snatch the offending article from Ryoma's head and give it to the servant who bowed and left to go and put them away.

He returned a few moments later, when Atobe and Ryoma had taken off their outdoor shoes.

"Will you be eating here, Master Atobe?"

Atobe glanced over to Ryoma, whose stomach chose that exact moment to start rumbling. Well, playing tennis did make him work up an appetite.

"Yes, it looks like we will."

"Very well, follow me," This was no doubt for Ryoma's benefit, it seemed they pegged him as the kind of person who would get lost if allowed to roam freely. This wouldn't be Ryoma's fault, in his opinion nobody needed a house this big. It was pointless.

They were led to the dining room, a completely separate room in it's own right rather than sharing it with the kitchen or lounge like in Ryoma's home.

"Take a seat, lunch will be out shortly."

The servant bowed again, what an amazingly flexible back these people must have, leaving Ryoma gaping around in bewilderment. The table was situated in the centre of the room, covered in a fancy white cloth which Ryoma knew would not be staying that colour for long, but was so long that it seemed to be able to fit the whole of Japan quite easily.

"How many people are you expecting?" Ryoma turned to face Atobe, who looked vaguely surprised by the question.

"Just us, now sit," He pulled out a chair at the end of the table, which had Ryoma wondering whether Atobe did actually have manners until he realised that Atobe was pulling the chair out for himself and not for Ryoma. With a huff he pulled out his own chair and sat down as well.

The first thing he noticed was that the table was already set but rather than the chopsticks he had been expecting he was greeted by several different sets of cutlery, each varying in length or sharpness, all of which Ryoma had no clue as to what they were for. There was even three different spoons!

"What happened to just chopsticks?" He mumbled, picking up one of the forks and examining it carefully.

Atobe looked incredulously at Ryoma, as though he had just asked the stupidest question ever, before snatching the fork from his hand and placing it back down on the table.

"This is just the basics, we are only having lunch after all," He informed the younger man, who merely stared back at him blankly. Atobe sighed and shook his head, "It seems you have more to learn than I originally thought."

Ryoma was saved from having to answer by the appearance of several more servants, each one carrying a plate covered with a lid which they placed in front of the two seated at the table.

As they lifted off the lid from the first dish Ryoma, who with the amount of cooks Atobe seemed to have had been expecting something spectacular, came face to face with a lump of glistening black.. slime that was not unlike something his cat had once coughed up.

Picking up one of the forks Ryoma gave it an experimental poke, cringing a little as it wobbled and then slid further across his plate. He'd had caviar before on sushi when he'd gone out with his family but not on it's own and in such a large amount.

"Don't use that," Once again he found the fork snatched from his hand, courtesy of Atobe. "That's for your main meal, not your hors d'oeuvres."

After numerous times of picking up the wrong cutlery, 'that's for fish Ryoma, fish!', Atobe was finally able to get Ryoma to take a mouthful.

As the black haired man's nose wrinkled in disgust Atobe was left wondering whether he had actually made the right decision in choosing this boy.

* * *

That was... so not worth the wait I gave you all.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5!

I have nothing of interest to say... so onwards!

* * *

Ryoma was somewhat of a deep sleeper, it was an art he had perfected over the years when he was trying to tune out his father, when he was curled up in a comfortable position there was hardly anything that would be able to rouse him from his slumber.

Unfortunately not even he could ignore someone banging on the door and a familiar voice, not that that was anything of a comfort, demanding to be let in. Ryoma groaned, wanting nothing more than to pull the covers back over his head but knew that it was really not worth the trouble that would no doubt occur when the person was taken away by the police for causing a public disturbance.

Dragging himself from his bed Ryoma stumbled over to the door, where the banging was starting to increase in tempo, and swung open the door so quickly that the person on the other side nearly fell across the threshold.

"Finally," Atobe grumbled, brushing himself off and strolling past Ryoma as though he owned the place, "How long did you intend to keep me waiting on the doorstep like some commoner?"

Ryoma didn't voice his reply, which was something along the lines of 'until you decided to give up and go away' and instead shut the front door and headed back into the apartment where Atobe had gone.

"Why are you here?" Ryoma asked, watching as Atobe sat down on the shoddy sofa in the middle of the room, legs crossed and looking incredibly out of place in his expensive clothes.

Usually it was Kirihara that came and picked him up to take him to Atobe's (for the last two weeks Ryoma had spent more time at Atobe's than at his own apartment) since Atobe himself would never lower himself to such a menial task.

Today though was his first day off in a long time, even Tezuka had phoned to tell him that he had things to do and could not make their usual match, leaving Ryoma with a completely free day in which he had been planning to do what he did best, i.e. sleep.

"Kirihara is busy today, he said he had some errands to run so I decided that, since you need a little something to brighten your otherwise dull days, that I would come and take his place." Atobe looked far too pleased with himself, as though he seriously thought that he was doing Ryoma a favour.

"Let me rephrase that.. why are you here _today_, it's my day off."

Atobe raised an eyebrow sceptically, letting out a little snort of laughter.

"It's not like you have anything better to do, am I right?"

Actually Ryoma could think of plenty of better things he could be doing other than entertaining Atobe for the rest of the day but somehow he knew that he would not be getting away from this one, Atobe was like a dog with a bone when it came to getting his way. No matter how much you fought they would just keep growling and refuse to give up.

"... I'll go and get changed."

--

When he returned a few minutes later, having splashed water on his face in order to wake himself up a little and gotten dressed in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, it was to find Atobe, obviously bored with sitting still, poking around his small apartment, picking things up to examine them and then putting them down with his nose wrinkled in disgust as though anything less than a famous brand marked piece was worthless.

"Your apartment is tiny, I can't see how you stand it," Atobe remarked conversationally once he realised Ryoma was there, obviously not put out being caught looking through other people's things.

"It's a one person apartment. Meant to hold one person only." Unfortunately his satirical comment was ignored by Atobe who either didn't get it or didn't care enough to respond. Instead Atobe strolled over to the coffee table where there were a variety of papers scattered about and picked up a brown folder that had been sitting in the middle of them.

"What's this?" He was just about to flip it open when it was suddenly snatched from his hands and he came face to face with Ryoma, who was obviously trying his best to look casual.

"It's nothing, just some papers for work."

Atobe raised his eyebrows, obviously not quite believing him, but didn't make a comment. Usually this sort of behaviour would have him doing whatever he could in order to find out what Ryoma was hiding but something in his expression told him that was probably not a very good idea. He needed Ryoma to be cooperative with him after all and there was not much Ryoma could be hiding from him anyway.

"Are we going then?" Ryoma interrupted his thoughts, placing the folder back down on the table.

"Of course, the driver is still waiting," Atobe lead the way towards the front door and was about half way down the hall when Ryoma suddenly stopped.

"Go on ahead, I forgot something."

Ryoma waited until Atobe had left the building before running back to his apartment and picking up the folder.

--

"Boss, it seems the kid has finally sent something."

It had taken days of staking out near Echizen's apartment, meticulously checking the prearranged spot where the boy was supposed to leave his findings and finally it seemed it had paid off.

The room was dimly lit, a dusty light bulb above the desk providing the only light, but the man who had spoken could still make out the figure of his boss silhouetted against the light. His head had been down, a pen in hand as he wrote, but at those words the pen had been dropped swiftly and the head rose.

"Bring it to me."

The man obediently made his way over to the desk, dropping the brown folder in front of his boss and bowing before taking a couple of steps back to give him room.

Flipping impatiently through the pages the leader's face darkened with each word he read of the untidy scrawl. It was all menial things; what he did in his spare time, his position within the company, the liberties this gave him.

All things which even an idiot would know!

"Worthless!" The boss slammed his hands down on the desk, causing the already old wood to creak further, and shoved himself to his feet. The person who had brought the folder cringed back as the chair his boss had been sitting on toppled backwards and clattered to the floor. "Absolutely worthless! I ask him to do one little thing and he can't even do that. Instead I'm lumbered with this.. this pile of crap!"

The folder was flung unceremoniously back at the man who had brought it, who only just managed to catch it before it smacked him in the face. He stayed silent, barely even breathing, lest he want to invoke any more wrath from his boss who was now pacing up and down behind his desk.

Finally after a full minute, just when the tension in the room was at it's highest and the poor subordinate was about ready to explode from the pressure the leader stopped his pacing and, instead, threw back his head and started to laugh.

It was a cruel, maniacal laugh that echoed against the stone walls, ricocheting in the small room, and left the underling wondering whether his boss had finally slipped into insanity.

"Boss...?"

The leader turned to face him then, eyes glinting with malice and face split into a sadistic smirk.

"We're just going to have to show him that we take these kind of offences very seriously."

--

Ryoma didn't think that there could be anything more boring than the party he had endured not that long ago but that was before he had been dragged from his home and forced into the study with Atobe in order to listen to him ramble on about the joys of owning a business.

Even the pencil he had been entertaining himself with by rolling it back and forth across the desk had been snatched away from him after Atobe got irritated by the noise and so he was now sprawled across the desk, head propped up on his elbow as he stared blankly at Atobe.

"..and so this clause is quite useful because it allows you to... are you even listening to me?" Eventually even Atobe seemed to notice that the golden eyes were glazed over and that at the moment he would probably have more luck speaking to a rock.

At least he could pretend that the rock was paying attention.

"This is boring." Ryoma's flat tone just seemed to get on Atobe's nerves even more. He may understand if it was just anyone giving this lecture but he was _Atobe_, his voice could quite easily inspire millions and so he expected the kid to be hanging on to his every word.

"Don't you find the many aspects of business fascinating?"

"I wouldn't know, I stopped listening."

Atobe had to fight the urge to growl or throw something at Ryoma (the latter of which was certainly seeming more appealing at the moment). Instead he settled for slamming his hands down on the table right in front of Ryoma, though the boy barely even flinched.

"I hate this as much as you but if you're going to play the part of my fiancé then-"

"If this is how you treat your fiancés it's no wonder you're still single," Ryoma interrupted, the familiar smirk on his face. It had become something of a hobby to annoy Atobe, there were always several new and interesting reactions to get out of him. "Aren't you meant to be taking me out for dinner and things? Wooing me in to doing what you want?"

Atobe's hands clenched on the desk and Ryoma could see the skin stretched taut across his knuckles which were white from the pressure, his hands trembling a little as he tried to control himself.

"Listen brat, do you want to screw this up and have everyone know the real reason I picked you?" Atobe's tone was one of forced control, something he must have inherited from his parents.

"Because you can't resist my charm?"

Unfortunately Atobe hadn't quite managed to get a grip on his control because he suddenly lunged forwards, grabbing hold of the front of Ryoma's shirt and dragging him to his feet until they were nearly nose to nose.

"No, it's so I can enjoy what happens when I wipe that infuriatingly smug look off your face."

Ryoma could feel Atobe's breath across his face, see his eyes boring into his own with a burning intensity, and it only caused his smirk to grow wider as though mocking him.

"I'd like to see you try."

Their little staring competition was interrupted by the door suddenly crashing open, ricocheting on it's hinges and crashing into the adjoining wall where it caused the plaster to flake and crumble to the floor.

Atobe had just let go of Ryoma and turned to give someone hell over that when he was greeted by the sight of a panting Kirihara who looked like he had just ran a marathon, curly hair even more wild than usual and eyes wide.

It took a moment for Kirihara to get his breath back enough to speak, leaning against the door jamb as though he was in serious danger of falling over.

"Atobe! There's a fire at the Echizen's place!"

* * *

Ooooh a cliffhanger!

Also, hooray for things actually starting to happen!


End file.
